Founded on Islay’s south [Kildalton] coast and situated between Ardbeg and Laphroaig, legal distilling was started at Lagavulin in 1816 by John Johnston. A second distillery shared the site, which was first bought by the same family in 1825, before production was absorbed into Lagavulin in 1837. Aged in oak casks for at least sixteen years, this much sought-after single malt has the massive peat-smoke that's typical of southern Islay – but also offering a dryness that turns it into a truly interesting dram.